Review of Fifine PC Microphone (F-F1M) Tech Review

PC Microphone Fifine 3.5mm Plug Recording Microphone Built In Reverb chip for Computer-Recording/Singing/Podcast-K028

Hafa Adai! Welcome to Chamorro Cinema, I'm your neighborhood Friendly Island Boy Manuel here to review the Fifine Technology PC Microphone. I was sent this microphone free of charge to review, but as with anything we review on Chamorro Cinema this will be an unbiased HONEST review.

Unboxing and Setup:

The product ships in a beautiful, simple white box with a simple black logo. Inside we have an instruction manual that has been translated to English with varying degrees of success. The microphone itself is protected by foam and the cord and USB adapter are individually wrapped in a separate compartment. Everything looks like it was packaged with care and the modern look of the packaging makes it seem like this mic is worth far more than the $40 dollars you dropped on Amazon to get it. Setup is easy the only part that might confuse people is needing to remove a cap on the clip in order to thread it onto the tripod. The XLR connector snaps into the base of the microphone then you simple hook the USB connector to a port on your computer and the little remaining plug goes into your microphone jack (IF YOU HAVE A COMBINED HEADPHONE/AUDIO INPUT JACK ON YOUR DEVICE YOU WILL NEED TO USE THE INCLUDED USB SPLITTER ADAPTER)

Construction/Feel:

The design of this microphone is very neat and clean. It has a sexy matte black finish with golden steel mesh on top. The  mic is made of an aluminum alloy and the whole thing just feels heavy, so I'm sure there are lots of do-dads and afew do-hickeys are featured under it's "Hood". The two dials on the mic control the volume and the echo and they take a little more oomf to turn. the damper is the same cheap foam dampers everyone uses but it works so...you know...if ain't broke, don't fix it. The adapter is a bit bulky so if you only have two USB Ports on your computer, and they are side by side good luck plugging in both. I had a tough time on my laptop but I ended up plugging it in to my cell phone charger. It is a little strange that it uses an XLR connector but it only works with the small jack and USB... but such are all of life's little mysteries.

 Quality:

I ran a few sound tests and to be honest it was pretty impressive. My one gripe is the dials aren't gradual enough it seems like the volume when adjusting between 25% and 75% is the same level all throughout then it goes straight to full volume; and the Echo control works really well but the echoes go from no echo to a lot of echo to fast. The whole device is rather sturdy and well built. The stand does occasionally droop and the lack of any adjustment to height takes away a point from me.

The Verdict:

This mic is deceptively priced. The quality of sound and the well built construction make the mic worth more than it's $30 price point. I strongly recommend this mic for novice podcasters and vocalists. As a Youtuber myself I look forward to using this mic to bring you more NERDTASTIC NEWS WITH AN ISLAND VIEW!

Thanks for reading and if you liked this review be sure to check back regularly for more Tech Reviews, Nerd Culture Discussions and Movie News.

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The Brothers Grimsby Review - Chamorro's Watchin' Movies

Hafa Adai and welcome to Chamorro Cinema! It's just me your neighborhood friendly Island Boy Manuel here with another review of a Sacha Baron Cohen movie. This time it's The Brothers Grimsby, released in 2016. So, was it good? Bad? Maybe a little of both? Let's find out as I dig into the The Brothers Grimsby.

The trailer looked promising, the basic setup is that Nobby (Sacha Baron Cohen) is a dimwitted English slob and his long lost brother Sebastian (Mark Strong) is a secret agent. They find each other after nearly 30 years and hi jinx ensue...I'll admit I thought this looked funny, but I was wrong...very wrong.

Let me start by saying that inside (deep inside) this movie there is a decent spy movie that examines in fine dramatic prose, the relationship between two brothers torn apart by circumstance and reconnect against a thrilling tale of intrigue. All of the flashback sequences of their childhood are engrossing and the child actors do a great job. The spy tech and an awesome first person sequence early in the film are smart and very well executed.

The problems come from Cohen and his once edgy humor. Nearly every joke fell flat to me, they seemed desperate for laughs, grasping at every gross out scenario.  Nobby is at times so dumb it actually takes you out of the movie and although Sebastian is much easier to take there are times when the film jumps the proverbial shark or in this case F***s the proverbial elephant.

It's a shame because there are gripping scenes that are suddenly undermined by Cohen with a firework up his butt, or Strong covered in semen. Every ounce of good the movie has is suddenly sucked away like poison from a testicle. What's worse is the non physical jokes are way behind the times (Daniel Ratcliff and Vin Diesel jokes anyone?).

The actors seem like they are all doing this film because they owe someone a favor, with the exception of Baron Cohen who seems like the kid sitting under the playground eating worms to try to impress people. This is made all the sadder because there is a crazy amount of talent in this film. Isla Fisher, Rebel Wilson, Penélope Cruz, Gabourey Sidibe and Ian McShane all have roles in this clunker!

The bottom line is don't see this film. It was bad even by Borat standards.

Thanks for reading. Be sure to check us out on YouTube, like us on Facebook and you can follow me on Twitter. Peace!

Nerds Reacting to Youtube Ep. 003: A-Blog Review

The Purge Review

Hafa Adai! Welcome to Chamorro Cinema, I'm your host Island Boy Manuel and today I am reviewing the 2013 surprise hit, The Purge.

In what is easily one of the most inventive and interesting premises recent memory, the 'New Founding Fathers" have instituted an annual 12-hour holiday that they call "The Purge". during the Purge all crime including murder is made legal (with the exception of high ranking government officials of course). The film toys with some big ideas including how this keeps our current system of income inequality in place as the rich get an opportunity to kill off the poor and homeless, thus keeping tension off the social safety net. This could have been a truly interesting exploration of systemic racism and class warfare...but instead it squanders it's promise and becomes a typical home invasion movie. 

The cast lead by Ethan Hawke, Lena Headey and a villianous Rhys Wakefield do a fine job with the material. This is especially true of Wakefield, who is delightfully creepy and hammy. The two child actors in the film, as well as the homeless man at the center of the conflict, are all serviceable but are given very little to do.

The story centers around Hawke and Headey's family as they lock down and settle in to ride out the Purge in relative safety. There is a quickly abandoned subplot with the eldest daughter and her boyfriend that is resolved and has next to no bearing on the rest of the film. The movie then devolves into a snooze-fest as the main cast attempt to find a homeless man in the dark for 20 minutes in order to escape the wrath of a group of wealthy young purgers led by Wakefield. When time runs out the film picks up some steam before it's anticlimactic denouement.

The purge is by the numbers home invasion movie that squanders it's premise...and if those numbers were being read like this 1...............2..............3........it's super dull and at times very random. The son has some wierd quirks that add nothing and have no payoff. Hawke's character is boring and out of nowhere becomes frickin Rambo for the last 10 minutes of the film.

It's not a terrible film but it isn't cerebral enough to be this slow.

Bottom line: 2 out of 5 stars.

Review of the Blue Microphones Snowball iCE Condenser Microphone

I purchased this microphone for use in my YouTube videos and I thought it's time to share my thoughts with you, my wonderful readers, so was it good? Bad? Maybe alittle of both? Let's find out as I review  the Blue Microphones Snowball iCE Condenser Microphone.

Out of the box this thing feels sturdy and well built, its a bit heavy which makes you think it's got lots of do-dads and do-hickies to do all its recordy things. 

The stand was easy enough to rig up provided you have a basic understanding of righty-tighty vs lefty-loosey. There is only one cord similar to the one connecting your printer to your computer (while we're on the subject of printers you should probably check your ink...I know you've been putting off buying a cartridge, but nobody wants a late night trip to Walmart to have to buy ink because your paper is due tomorrow and you procrastinated).

Anyway strange detours aside, The voice quality for capturing a single voice is phenomenal...when podcasting with multiple voices it leaves a little to be desired. It is a condenser mic so beware it will pick up alot of room noise. I haven't put a pop filter on mine but it would definitely help as this thing is sensitive. It doesn't have any XLR ports so this is simply a computer mic (although it does work well on my Playstation 4).

The bottom line is this is a quality little mic, and for under $100 it's money well spent.